Grassland
at a
coal
mine in
Baorixile,
Inner
Mongolia,
is
dotted
with
pits
left by
ruthless
exploration
over the
past few
decades.
Photo:
Lu Guang,
courtesy
of
Greenpeace

The typical
traveler
imagines Inner
Mongolia as an
endless field of
grassland,
punctuated by
mountains and
the occasional
yurt. In recent
times however,
swathes of the
remote region
have begun to
look pocked and
cratered like
the surface of
the moon.

Pictures of the
Hulunbuir region
that have been
posted online
show that like
the lunar
landscape, Inner
Mongolia also
has a dark side.

Soaring demand
for minerals is
threatening both
the environment
and locals.
Mines are
expanding,
underground
water is being
over-extracted,
and coal power
plants as well
as chemical
plants are being
established
across the
once-quiet area.

Now the
grasslands are
sinking,
pollution is
rising and
desertification
threatens the
area's delicate
ecological
balance.

Industry vs
environment

As locals raise
complaints
against
polluting
industries that
drain their
water resources,
the government
has announced
that a plan to
expand coal
exploitation in
the region will
boost the number
of factories and
be a major
source of local
government
revenue.

Locals are
already worried
about the
effects of
mining on their
area, but
officials have
told them they
shouldn't speak
to the media.
One herder, who
spoke to the
Global Times on
condition of
anonymity, said
that she started
herding in the
Hulunbuir area
in 1996. She
said that she
has lost more
than 50 sheep
and 16 cattle
this year due to
the expansion in
mining. "Some of
my animals died
from pollution,"
she said. "Some
by accident,
either at
drainage areas
near the open
mines, or they
fell into the
pits left behind
by the mines."

The pits she
refers to are
those left by
mine owners, who
began
prospecting
throughout the
area in the
1990s. Hundreds
of small coal
mines used to
operate around
the Baorixile
township of
Hulunbuir over
10 years ago,
before bigger
companies
acquired them.

But when those
companies left
in early 2000,
during a
national
regulation
campaign,
thousands of
pits were left
behind for
residents to
deal with, many
still remaining
to this day.

The area that is
now sinking
covers 2.24
square
kilometers,
according to
reports from
environmental
NGO Greenpeace.

Local land
resources
authorities said
they've been
trying to fill
the pits and
have already
invested 60
million yuan
over the past 10
years in
grassland
restoration,
according to a
China Enterprise
News report.

In addition to
this, the Inner
Mongolia
regional
government plans
to introduce a
regulation
curbing
industrial
projects with
high water
consumption, and
the illegal
extraction of
underground
water, according
to a China
Chemical
Industry News
report in July.

The regional
government also
put in place a
new regulation
earlier this
year, which
stipulates that
any one who
conducts
construction,
mining or other
energy
exploration
projects on
grasslands
should pay a
grassland
restoration fee.

In an effort to
restore the
area, the
government
announced in
August last year
that they would
spend a total of
27.5 billion
yuan ($4.35
billion) from
2011 to 2015 on
grasslands
environmental
protection.

Spiral of
degradation

Dongming
village, located
in Hulunbuir's
Chenbaerhu
county, is one
of the villages
surrounded by
industrial
establishments
that emit heavy
pollution.
Villagers have
been told that
they must leave
the area next
year, because
their village
has been
designated as an
industrial
district.

According to
Greenpeace,
villagers in
Dongming are
struggling with
pollution caused
by the coal
mines, which
compete for
limited water
resources. The
underground
water table has
been dropping
due to the
over-extraction
from coal mines,
creating serious
problems when it
comes to daily
life and the
feeding of
livestock.

"The coal mines
started paying
me for my
livestock losses
several years
ago. But who
will make up for
the losses when
the grassland is
gone?" the
anonymous herder
asked. Other
villagers, who
the Global Times
managed to talk
to, also said
that the local
government had
been instructing
them not to talk
to the media.

The area of
grassland
affected by
degradation,
desertification
and salinization
in Hulunbuir had
reached 39,822
square
kilometers by
the early 21st
century,
accounting for
40 percent of
the total
grassland
coverage in the
city, according
to the Grassland
Bureau of
Supervision and
Management in
Hulunbuir. The
city's grassland
has been
degrading at a
rate of 2
percent each
year and
currently at
least 73.5
percent of the
grassland in
Inner Mongolia
has degraded,
according to
media reports.
In addition to
Hulunbuir, other
areas such as
Xilingol and
Horqin also face
similar
problems, the
report said.

"Some villagers
have been
protesting
against the
polluting
companies and
asking the
government for
compensation.
But it's
difficult for
officials to
give up industry
development,
given the huge
tax income from
these
industries,"
said Sun Qingwei,
a media officer
with Greenpeace.

The motivation
for coal
exploration in
Inner Mongolia
is not just
driven by the
local
government's
desire for
revenue.

According to a
five-year-plan
by the National
Energy
Administration,
the Chinese
government has
planned 14 coal
exploration
bases and 16
coal-electricity
bases to be
built in China's
western regions
by 2015, in
locations
including Inner
Mongolia,
Xinjiang and
Ningxia.
Hulunbuir is
endowed with
significant coal
resources, which
will be needed
for these
projects.

The amount
already located
in the area
exceeds 100
billion tons,
six times the
total amount in
Liaoning,
Heilongjiang and
Jilin provinces
combined.

Water worries

However, experts
have indicated
that the size of
the plans and
the scarce water
resources in
areas like
Hulunbuir and
Xinjiang mean
that a water
crisis may lie
on the horizon.

Coal-related
industries in
western regions
will need around
9.98 billion
cubic meters of
water in 2015,
equivalent to
one-fourth of
the total volume
from the Yellow
River available
for allocation
during a normal
year.

"The government
understands how
much energy and
resources we
need (for the
12th Five-Year
Plan). However
environmental
efforts, which
should be made
at the same time
as we develop
industries, are
being omitted,"
said Song
Xianfang, a
researcher with
the Institute of
Geographic
Sciences and
Natural
Resources
Research, under
the Chinese
Academy of
Sciences.

The government
should assess
different coal
and electricity
facilities based
on their water
requirements,
and re-evaluate
the feasibility
and scale of
planned energy
projects based
on local water
conditions, Song
said.

"Mining and
chemical
projects that
would lead to
serious impacts
on the
environment or
cause a water
crisis should be
modified," he
told the Global
Times.

In the meantime,
the Ministry of
Environmental
Protection
should look into
the energy
consumption and
water problems
caused by coal
mining while
making
environmental
impact
assessments on
the development
of China's
western regions,
he suggested.